We were lucky to catch up with Maliaka Mitchell, M.S recently and have shared our conversation below.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
From ponytails to sitting on the porch singing songs, I trace my passion back when I was in the fifth grade, where I taught kids in my community how to play board games and perform in small improve classes. I found the experience of teaching young kids, friends, and family fulfilling and tons of fun. Therefore, I developed further my teaching skills and managed to be a peer teacher and peer counselor at United Way. I just loved being with children and teaching. My passion for socializing with children and my ability to create using my imagination made me feel complete. As I advanced in age, so did the urge to take on more responsibility to teach and assist children. As a freshman in college, I used my teaching experience and my love for helping others promote “safety thinking “ in the community.
Extended babysitting hours night and day, holding counselor positions at multiple after school programs, and accepting a position to be a lead teacher at a non-public school for special needs children. This school led me to life long journey of discovering unique ways to provide services to children with disabilities. It is said, your heart will guide you, and I can genuinely say the foundation of my journey has assisted individuals with disabilities. I worked long hours at agencies providing in-home service while in college programs to support individuals and their parents across all environments and advocate for participants accessing community inclusive tasks or activities. I knew the job was still not done. With so much to do and very little awareness of how to do it, I knew it was time to do something and something with passion and commitment.
As a specialized trainer, program developer, independent facilitator, behavior specialist, consultant, and direct service provider, I provide the expertise of 15+ years of hands-on experience. I am proficient in working with individuals and children diagnosed with developmental, emotional, and intellectual disabilities. My knowledge and expertise to effectively implement basic ABA therapy-based programs, behavioral and educational programs individualized to meet the client’s needs make me different from others. I am compassionate, well organized, and patient with exceptional communication, interpersonal, and social skills, along with a strong determination to provide the highest quality of services to all the clients so they can discover their unique potential. I have been a vendor and program manager for a state-funded agency providing direct and group services to individuals with disabilities. After assisting with creating transition opportunities, I prepared and designed a community-based program to receive funding from a state agency. While holding management for two years, I discovered the disparity in the support provided to teens and young adults transitioning to adulthood. Recently, I have found particular interest in independent facilitation Self Determination programs implemented state-wide encouraging individuals to create the quality of life they deserve. It is these very opportunities that push me to work full-time, implementing, and creating community-inclusive opportunities that support individuals with disabilities and their families in all communities. I will continue to create awareness and emphasis on providing resources and support to disenfranchised communities. While continuing to provide service, creating inclusive experiences will prioritize, creating fully inclusive programs and services for individuals with disabilities in all communities. We will be the change we want to see in the world.
Maliaka Mitchell, M.S.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
As a young woman growing up in the inner city, being raised by my mother would be challenging at times. My father passed away when I was very young so I enjoyed spending time with my mother and my four brothers. After one of my brothers was murdered, my mother was very reserved and overprotective. I attended a private school until my last year of middle school, and then my mother allowed me to take a school bus an hour away from home. It was in those moments I illustrated resilience; my mother was a registered nurse and left for work very early and I was responsible for getting to the bus stop and dropping off my little brother to the babysitter, which later turned into dropping him off at school before going to school. This was my responsibility all of high school. I did it, graduated with honors and attended junior college first and a couple of years received a scholarship to St. Johns University in Jamaica Queens, New York. The journey did not stop there after graduating from St. Johns and receiving my Bachelor’s in Science, I was accepted into the Counseling program at Cal State Los Angeles, and there I received my Masters in Counseling. And the journey continues.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
The lessons I had to unlearn revealed themselves when interacting with families daily. Being present and listening was an important lesson. I believe I was so used to giving advice that it was essential to learn how to listen and continue to give meaningful support and not so focused on the advice. Simply being there was sometimes good enough, having that listening ear for others.
